June Foray’s Animated Life — at Age 97

Celebrated voice actress, June Foray, turned an amazing 97 years-old yesterday on September 18th, and we here at Beyond the Marquee are not surprised by that accomplishment at all. We had the distinct pleasure of visiting with June in her home about two years ago to interview her about her fascinating career as the voice of so many beloved cartoon characters. Since that time, she has been a great friend to Beyond the Marquee.

We thought our fans would like to to take a look at the interview and article we posted awhile back about this lady who shows no signs of stopping her animated life anytime soon. Enjoy!

 

For legendary voice actress, June Foray, everyday life can be very animated … and we’re not exaggerating when we say that!  95 years young, Foray continues to be an active presence in the world of voice-over work in Hollywood.  Chances are very likely that you’ve heard her at some point in your lifetime whether it be on radio, television, movies or even your playroom as a kid … and you probably didn’t even know it.  She has given voice to a multitude of favorite animated characters ranging from Lucifer the Cat in Walt Disney’s Cinderella to Granny in the Sylvester and Tweety Looney Tunes shorts to Rocky the Flying Squirrel in the Rocky and Bullwinkle Show.  Throw in several Hanna-Barbera characters, some beloved Christmas specials, a voice appearance in JAWS (yep!), a spot on an early episode of The Simpsons and even a presence as the voice of the famed Chatty Cathy doll, and you’ll just be scratching the surface of some of June Foray’s work throughout the years. 

Looney Tunes cartoonist, Chuck Jones, once referred to prolific voice actor, Mel Blanc, as “the male June Foray,” and if you know anything about Mel Blanc’s own impressive career, you can see why June Foray still regards Jones’ comment as one of her favorite accolades.  In 2012, Foray won an Emmy for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for her role as Mrs. Cauldron on The Garfield Show. She now holds the distinction as being the oldest entertainer to be nominated for and to win an Emmy Award! Despite her busy schedule reprising the voice of Granny for the new Looney Tunes Show and Rocky the Flying Squirrel in an upcoming series of Rocky and Bullwinkle shorts, June Foray graciously invited Beyond the Marquee into her home recently to talk about her life and career and some of her favorite memories and accomplishments. Click ahead to see an expanded list of some of June’s memorable roles…

 

A line-up of some of June Foray’s most memorable characters (Click to ENLARGE)


Interested in a list of some of June Foray’s most memorable roles?  Here’s just a basic rundown we could come up with.  We encourage you to fully research June’s career to find all the amazing roles she has played throughout her career!

Lucifer the Cat – Walt Disney’s Cinderella

Rocky the Flying Squirrel – The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show

Cindy Lou Who – The Grinch Who Stole Christmas

Jokey Smurf – The Smurfs

Witch Hazel – Looney Tunes

Granny – Looney Tunes

Natasha Fatale – The Rocky and Bullwinkle Show

Receptionist at the Rubber Baby Buggy Bumper Babysitting Service – The Simpsons (Some Enchanted Evening)

Magica de Spell – DuckTales

Ma Beagle – DuckTales

Lambert’s mother – Lambert the Sheepish Lion (Disney)

Grammi Gummie – Disney’s Adventures of the Gummi Bears

Mermaid – Walt Disney’s Peter Pan

Grandmother Fa – Disney’s Mulan

Ursula – George of the Jungle

May Parker – Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends

Mrs. Cauldron – The Garfield Show

Karen – Frosty the Snowman (her voice work was later dubbed over, but her singing remains)

Voices for Sean and Michael Brody – JAWS

Talky Tina – The Twilight Zone – (Living Doll)

Chatty Cathy – Toy Doll from Mattel

(Editors Note: we apologize for some of the poor image quality you’ll see in our footage of June during this episode.  Our camera experienced a technical malfunction at the time of filming the interview that we couldn’t fully correct in post-production).

 

Bill Scott (Bullwinkle Moose) and June Foray (Rocket J Squirrel)

(L to R) Animation Legends Chuck Jones, June Foray and Mel Blanc

June Foray (the voice of Granny) with her two pals Sylvester and Tweety

June Foray poses with some figurines of Jokey Smurf who she provided the voice for

June Foray (the Early Years)

June Foray with Rocky the Squirrel

 

 

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